Everything Everywhere Daily: History, Science, Geography & More - The Queen of Sheba

Episode Date: May 27, 2022

All three of the holy books from great monotheistic faiths share a similar story about a Queen from a land in the south who traveled to Jerusalem to meet King Solomon.  This queen, who is said to have come from a land called Sheba, held not only the fascination of Solomon but of people for over 2000 years. But did she really exist, and if she did, where exactly did she come from? Learn more about the Queen of Sheba on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily. Subscribe to the podcast!  https://podfollow.com/everythingeverywhere/ -------------------------------- Executive Producer: Darcy Adams Associate Producers: Peter Bennett & Thor Thomsen   Become a supporter on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/everythingeverywhere Update your podcast app at newpodcastapps.com Discord Server: https://discord.gg/UkRUJFh Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/everythingeverywhere/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/everywheretrip Website: https://everything-everywhere.com/everything-everywhere-daily-podcast/ Everything Everywhere is an Airwave Media podcast." or "Everything Everywhere is part of the Airwave Media podcast network Please contact [e-mail] to advertise on Everything Everywhere. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

All three of the holy books from the great monotheistic faiths share a similar story about a queen from a land in the south who traveled to Jerusalem to meet King Solomon. This queen, who was said to have come from a land called Shiba, not only held the fascination of Solomon, but of people for almost 3,000 years. But did she really exist? And if she did, where exactly did she come from? Learn more about the Queen of Sheba on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily. What if your perceptions about the past were wrong? ThruLine is a podcast that takes you back in time to uncover the parts of the story that may have gone unnoticed. It effectively turned day into night.

And how it shaped the world now. Time travel with us every week on the ThruLine podcast from NPR. The story of the Queen of Shiba can be found in the Hebrew Bible, the Christian Old Testament, with references to it in the New Testament, and in the Islamic Quran, although the story may differ slightly. Before I get into the history of the Queen in her kingdom, I should probably at least give a brief overview of the religious stories. In the Old Testament, the Queen of Sheba is never actually given a name. She is simply referred to as the Queen of Sheba. The actual text in the Old Testament isn't very long, so I'll read an abbreviated version of it from the Book of Kings here.

Quote, Now when the Queen of Sheba heard about the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the name of the the Lord, she came to test him with difficult questions. She arrived in Jerusalem with a very large caravan, with camels bearing spices, gold in great abundance, and precious stones. So she came to Solomon and spoke to him of all that was on her mind. And Solomon answered all her questions. Nothing was too difficult for the king to explain. When the Queen of Sheba saw all the wisdom of Solomon, the palace he had built, the food at his table, the seating of his servants, the service and attire of his attendance and cup-bearers, and the burnt offerings he presented at the house of the Lord, it took her breath away. She said to the king, the report I heard in my own country about your

words and wisdom is true, but I did not believe these things until I came and saw it with my own eyes. Indeed, not even half was told to me. Your wisdom and prosperity have far exceeded the report I heard. How blessed are your men? How blessed are these servants of yours who stand continually before you and hear your wisdom? Blessed be the Lord your God who has delighted in you and set you on the throne of Israel. Because of the Lord's eternal love for Israel, he has made you king to carry out justice and righteousness. She gave the king 120

talents of gold, a great quantity of spices and precious stones. Never again was such an abundance of spices brought in as those the Queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon. King Solomon gave the Queen of Sheba all she desired, whatever she asked, besides what he had given her out of

his royal bounty. Then she left and returned to her country along with her servants. End quote. She is referenced again in the New Testament in the books of Matthew and Luke simply as the Queen of the South. In the Quran, the story is slightly different. For starters, she has a name, Queen Bilquist. Second, it wasn't the Queen who heard of Solomon.

It was Solomon who heard about the Queen. The Queen was a pagan who worshipped the sun, and Solomon invited her to Jerusalem to convert. She sent ambassadors to Solomon with gifts who rejected them. She then came to Jerusalem herself and encountered a floor made of glass. The Koran states, quote, She was told enter the palace, but when she saw it, she thought it was a pool of water, and she bared both her calves to enter it.

Solomon said, This is a slippery floor of crystal. Thereupon she cried out, My lord, I have been inflicting much wrong upon myself. Now I submit myself with Solomon to Allah, the Lord of the whole universe. End quote. But these religious texts are not the only mentions of the Queen of Shiva.

The Yorba people in Nigeria claim that she was one of theirs who is a childless noblewoman. There is a non-canonical Jewish text called the Tagramsheni, which is a longer, more embellished telling of the book of Esther, which goes into much more detail about the queen, including retelling the story of the glass floor which is found in the Quran. There are writings from Egyptian Comtec texts which speak of Queen Yisaba from the Kingdom of Cush who visit Solomon. Cush is generally referred to as the kingdom that lay to the south of Egypt along the Nile River, usually in what is today the countries of Sudan and South Sudan. So there are a bunch of stories from different cultures in roughly the same region

that speak of a queen from the south who made a trip to visit Jerusalem. So the first thing we need to look at is if in fact there was a kingdom called Shiba. Technically the answer is no, but that is probably more an issue of translation and pronunciation. There was a kingdom from this period that fits the bill called Saba. The kingdom of Saba was located in what is today Ethiopia and Yemen. Coptics, if you can remember, called her Queen Yassaba. The early first century Jewish historian Josepha said that she was the queen of Saba, which was located in Ethiopia, which was the Latin word for the Horn of Africa. Saba was also referred to in many medieval and Renaissance images, which referenced the queen.

So it's pretty probable that Shiba was referencing Saba, with it being called Saba as an intermediate step. The kingdom of Saba existed around the 8th century BC, and there's archaeological, evidence of its existence. It actually existed on both sides of the Red Sea. Part of the kingdom was in modern-day Ethiopia and Eritrea, and the other part was in modern-day Yemen in the Arabian Peninsula. There are actually debates as to if Saba was in Ethiopia or Yemen, but the truth is it isn't in either-or question. Like the Axum Empire, which came after it, there was a great deal of commerce and contact between the two sides of the Red Sea. They're actually very close together at this point, with the Bar-El Mandeb Strait being only 20 miles or 32 kilometers across at its most narrow point.

Saba was by all accounts a rich kingdom. If you remember back to my episode on Frankencents and Mur, these products were grown in the very areas that Saba encompassed, and they were in high demand. And on top of that, it was a prime location to trade other goods from both India and the east coast of Africa. So at least at first glance, Saba checks out as being Shiba. There is, however, one major thing I haven't mentioned yet. In addition to all the references to the Queen of Shiva that I said before,

there is one country in particular that places the Queen of Shiba at the center of national mythology. Ethiopia. Ethiopia's national epic is called the Kerba Nagost, which roughly translates to the glory of the kings. The Kirba Nagas dates back at least 700 years, and it gives the complete genealogy of the Solomonic dynasty, which was the ruling family of the Ethiopia. empire. In the Curba Nagas, there is a much longer and much more complete telling of the Queen of Sheba story. For starters, in the story, she has a name. Her name is Queen Makeda.

A merchant from her kingdom named Tamarin went to Jerusalem and returned to Ethiopia and told her of the wonders he saw, so she decided to go see herself. When she arrived, she got a long rate with Solomon. They would engage in conversations and have debates, and both proved themselves to be very wise. Solomon showered her with gifts, and she was. agreed to convert to Judaism. The last evening she was in Jerusalem, Solomon offered to let her stay in his palace. He promised that no harm would come to her, and in return, she promised not to take anything of his. That evening, a very spicy meal was prepared. When Maccader retired for the evening, a glass of water was placed next to her bed. When she woke to drink the water, Solomon was there,

which is kind of creepy, and told her of her vow not to take anything of his. She was so desperate to have a drink of water that she let Solomon have her way with her. The next day when she left, Solomon gave her a special ring as a token of faith. When Makata returned to Ethiopia, she had a son by the name of Menelik, who became known as Menelik I, the founder of the Solomonic dynasty. Menelik later returned to Jerusalem to meet his father, and he brought the ring with him to prove his identity. Solomon warmly welcomed his son and encouraged him to stay. However, Melanick returned to Ethiopia, and Solomon had the firstborn sons of of many of his nobles return with him.

Unbeknownst to Melanick, when they left, these firstborn children who were sent back with him, stole the Ark of the Covenant, and brought it to Ethiopia. According to the Kerba Nagas, Queen Makata reigned for 50 years. So is the story in the Kirban Nagas true? If you remember back from my episode on the Ark of the Covenant, Ethiopia is the only place on earth that claims to have the Ark, and the Ark is one of the central tenets of the Ethiopian Coptic Church. There is a rather small building in Axum which actually claims to have the ark today.

In addition to this, there is, and always has been, a small community of Jews in Ethiopia. They've actually held very ancient traditions such as animal sacrifice, which have long since been abandoned by modern Judaism. Neither of these things can prove the story, but they do, I think, provide corroborating evidence to support it. There has been some archaeological evidence that has come to light as well. In 2008, a German team of archaeologists from the University of Hamburg claimed to have discovered the palace of the Queen of Sheba in Axum. There are also sites that have claimed association with the Queen in Dofar Oman and in Aden Yemen. However, it's very difficult to actually make a firm association. There is a great deal of debate amongst historians and archaeologists as to if the Queen of Shiva actually existed and if she existed where she lived.

It's difficult to prove the existence of anybody who lived 3,000 years ago. However, it's also hard to explain away all of the stories about her from so many different cultures. Personally, I think there has to be some kernel of truth to the story. I'm of the opinion that most ancient stories have some sort of factual basis, even if those stories are embellished and change over time. Regardless of what historians think, however, the fact remains that the Queen of Shiba has remained a powerful symbol for Ethiopia, for women, and even all of Africa, for almost 3,000.

years. Everything Everywhere Daily is an Airwave Media podcast. The executive producer is Darcy Adams. The associate producers are Thor Thompson and Peter Bennett. Today's review comes from listener Marcus over at Apple Podcasts in the United States. He writes, Love this podcast. I am 16 and have just recently started listening to this. I love this podcast and would even say I learn more from here than I do at school. Thanks, Marcus. You are fortunate to have discovered at a young age something that most people never do. First, that you You are responsible for your education, and second, that learning isn't just something that happens in a classroom. Remember, if you leave a review or send me a boostogram, you two can have it read on the show.